Growing up as a first-generation student can be difficult. Most grow up in a low-income household and have to go through situations that can be hard and stressful. Some students have to work from an early age or just simply find someway to help our parents have enough money for necessities.

I interviewed two current Cal Poly students and one Cal Poly Alumni, now faculty member, and asked them how it was like for them to grow up.

Carla Quinonez moved to the U.S. about six years ago and is now a biomedical engineering major. Maria Arvizu-Rodriguez, worked in the agricultural fields with her parents and is now an academic advisor. Dainy Cruz Cortes grew up at her parents work, a sewing factory, and is now a business major.

Applying to a college is one thing and applying for financial aid is another. It is very important for first-generation students and other low-income students to apply for financial aid because it could be the only source of funding they have to pay for college. Just like the college application the Free Application for Student Aid is tedious. Which is why Alltuition is very helpful and can come in handy to go through that application process. Here are 7 reasons why:

Merriam Webster defines a support group as, “a group of people who have similar experiences and concerns and who meet in order to provide emotional help, advice, and encouragement for one another.” Cal Poly’s Counseling Services offers support groups for students with different types of concerns. A support group that is offered to students is the “First-Generation College Students Support Group.”

If you’ve read the “About” section on this blog you know that I myself am a first-generation and low-income college student.

A goal of mine for this blog is to focus on the experiences of other students on each post but this post will be an exception because as a change I will be talking about my experience. I will touch on several past posts and add how I personally relate to the topic.

Going away from home for the first time is a big step in life. It takes a good reason to do it. For first-generation students and many other college students that reason is college. Some students choose to stay close and go to college near their home or commute. But others have to travel miles to a new city with new people, places and surroundings. It is saying goodbye to everything they have ever known. But it’s worth it because they are going away to pursue and education.

Nothing is perfect. As a writer I will make mistakes and also beautiful pieces.

This post is different than all the previous ones. It’s a self evaluation of how I’m doing with the blog. I want this blog to be great. There needs to be a maintenance check to keep the ship afloat. In order to do this I gathered comments from my peers to help me find what I could do better and what I am already doing good!

Theme

This did not come up in a comment but it’s something that I want to comment on. One thing that I have been going back and forth about doing is changing my theme. The reason for this is that my current theme pushes down the archive and twitter feed all the way to the bottom. But I really like the color scheme and style. I hope to find one that resembles it but has the archive and twitter feed to the side where it is more easy to be seen. Also, one that accepts the size of my header. I made it on Photoshop and I’m pretty proud of it.

Going away to college is a big step for anyone. It means shedding out of your comfort zone and being exposed to new surroundings. It hits harder being a first-generation student because our parents are not able to guide us through the process.

First-generation students in the Educational Opportunity Program at Cal Poly are given the opportunity to attend a program called Summer Institute. It usually runs through the end of July to the middle of August. They stay in on-campus apartments, take a General Education course and attend supplemental workshops. The program also includes activities that helps them get familiar with San Luis Obispo. The program is held every summer. This last summer, 89 incoming EOP freshmen got to attend. The 2013 program ran from July 27 – August 20th. This year’s theme was DC superheroes with the motto being “Made of Steel.” The Summer Institute Program Coordinator and Program Assistants are in charge of the program.

“The purpose of Summer Institute is to help out students transition to college,” Jon Diaz, Summer Institute Program Assistant said.